Gastrointestinal anastomosis (GIA) stapler as a safe and efficacious damage control tool for high-grade liver injury in hemodynamically unstable patient- A case report

INTRODUCTION: Liver injury occurs in approximately 5% of all trauma admissions. There are many traditional ways of controlling hemorrhage from the liver and here we report a case in which a GIA 75 stapler was successfully used to manage Grade IV liver injury in a hemodynamically unstable patient. PRESENTATION OF CASE: 45 years old policeman presented in the emergency, after sustaining a gunshot injury to his abdomen. At presentation, he was hemodynamically unstable and had a single entry wound in the epigastrium. He was rushed to the operating room (OR) for exploratory laparotomy which revealed a shattered left lobe of the liver. Gastrointestinal anastomosis 75 stapler device was used for non-anatomical left segmentectomy (segments I and II). Perihepatic packing was done and the patient shifted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). He was re-explored within 24 h. No active bleeding was seen after the packs were removed and the abdomen was closed. The next day he was moved out of SICU and was discharged on the 10th day of admission. DISCUSSION: The concept of damage control surgery rests on quick control of life-threatening bleeding and a GIA stapler can be effectively used for rapid non-anatomical resection of the liver in trauma. This can prevent the depletion of physiological reserves and the life-threatening death triad. CONCLUSION: GIA stapler device is an effective, safe, and rapidly deployable tool for managing high-grade liver injury in a hemodynamically unstable patient.